Mandarin Mashup April 27, 2012
Cushman School welcomes Chinese exchange students - Miami Herald
Elementary and middle students at the Cushman School in Miami opened their weekly assembly with the traditional raising of the flag.
They ended it with a springtime song about green grass, yellow birds and red flowers — sung in Mandarin.
In between, Chinese students danced, performed tai chi and wrote calligraphy to share and highlight their culture.
The demonstration was part of a 5-year-old exchange program between the private Cushman School and elementary students from the primary school affiliated with Hunan University in Changsha, a city of 7 million in south central China.
Fourth-grader Jiang Pin led the song in a white, ruffled dress. The 10-year-old said the teachers and students in Miami treated her and her Chinese classmates and teachers “just like the spring.”
The two schools take turns sending elementary and middle school students across the world for a two-week exchange. Students stay with host families, attend classes and visit local cultural sites. Over the past two weeks, 17 Chinese students and six teachers have visited Cushman. In the fall, a group from Miami, mostly students in grades 5 and up, will head to Hunan University, paying their own air fare and incidental costs. Younger students can travel with a parent.
Educators with both schools say they want their students to have a global mindset from an early age.
“Our world is changing, and it’s growing smaller,” said Joan Lutton, the outgoing head of the Cushman School. “Think about 20, 25 years from now, when these children are in positions of authority, they have that connection with the culture of China that’s going to be competitive with the United States.”
Dingling Liao, who is from the Hunan University and is teaching Mandarin at Cushman, echoed that sentiment. “We want our students to have a sense of the whole world.”
There is interest in South Florida schools to teach Mandarin, one of the main languages spoken in China. Broward County public schools are looking at expanding their offerings next year, said district spokeswoman Nadine Drew. So far, three Broward schools offer Chinese: Sanders Park Elementary and Crystal Lake Middle, both in Pompano Beach, and Coconut Creek High.
In Miami-Dade County, almost 850 students are enrolled in Mandarin classes at nine elementary, middle and high schools. An additional 65 Miami-Dade students are studying the language in online courses.
About eight years ago, as principal at Devon Aire K-8 Center near Kendall, Lawrence Feldman started Mandarin classes for kindergartners. Now students up to the fifth grade can enroll; the school has the most Mandarin-learners in Miami-Dade.
“Can you imagine being able to speak fluently in Mandarin and that’s the largest country in the world?” said Feldman, now School Board Vice Chairman. “My interest is to give students another opportunity to find another niche in the global market — the financial and industrial niche.”
Cushman’s academic partnership transcends the two countries’ politics and economics. The cultural exchange has blossomed into friendships and erased stereotypes.
Alicia Becker, who teaches Spanish at Cushman and spearheaded the start of the exchange program several years ago, said she has learned a lot from visiting China.
“I always thought Chinese people were extremely serious, distanced,” she said. “China was like a secret. You couldn’t get behind that wall. The fact is when you are there, they open their home, they open their heart. They are an extremely generous people.
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